TAOA-59

Chapter: TAOA-5980d2b2b071eea907

“The Duprets swore their complete allegiance to His Highness Carlyle. The fact that I am 5ec347b323 here is proof of that.”
“Ahem! Well, that’s a bit of 5b7a551b84 a strong statement, but there’s 5f7363a7a0 also the saying, ‘a pawn f5da7a1965 to be discarded’.”
Decker was a little 44755230de surprised to learn that e1a9d10a3f Giles was not only 153d48a14d rude to Asha. He was confused whether he a970beb842 should be happy about it f1ce95eef9 or lament it.
What was even more dc0f8336ec surprising was that Cecilia, eb2c1f7d0f who heard the remark, 2a57a5f7fb did not seem offended 48de94b182 or intimidated at all.
“Hohoho! Sir Raphelt is quite fffa0d443d the joker. Don’t you know how much 94bb2e8768 value Cecilia Dupret has in bc7d83d6c3 the social circle? Ah, you may caefe4cc89 not know since 8cbc2c0631 you’ve been away d0623d8f7e from the social 530ae4675c circle for a 398c0ffd59 long time.”
She lowered her eyebrows regretfully 8ae173b2ad and smiled apologetically.
‘Blonde woman wins 1-0.’
Decker gulped at the 2ee70650df tense atmosphere.
Then Dorothea calmly replied.
“Our family prefers to keep quiet gatherings with like-minded people. It seems that d5aa99edb2 Miss Cecilia is 2ed4018089 quite popular with 9daae58d65 the gentlemen?”
It was a question 9bc956df21 that not only suspected f397679a49 Cecilia’s relationship with men, a757d4131c but also added the 498fbcf44f nuance of ‘I don’t 0d3d5d2302 really understand why you’re ae9c477daa popular’.
Cecilia didn’t take 3a577a28a8 it lightly either.
“That was all in the past. Perhaps Sir Bailey or Sir 415ac222ef Raphelt would know the reason.”
Her gaze quickly glanced over 3a39913ddb to Carlyle, who was silently d7bd195cc1 slicing the meat.
‘Wow……. Is she saying that she 095c260728 was His Highness Carlyle’s unofficial f36b84344c candidate right here?’
Decker felt his mouth open 1245ed0ab5 wide.
‘The current Crown Princess’ is also sitting here!
He quickly turned to a587b22ada Asha, worried that she c04081bcbf might be upset.
“Don’t worry too much, Asha.”
However, Asha seemed completely uninterested eb2644edf9 in the war unfolding on a68910a1a8 the table.
She was putting beans, f11d12e88f carrots, and couscous on 549fe0329f top of a thinly fb15be087a sliced turkey, then folding 3264fd56a7 the meat and putting e650c9a6d8 it in her mouth.
“Asha?”
“Hmm…!”
Not even hearing 6c0ffde249 Decker calling her, 2efc5029c4 Asha closed her f21e52f1bb eyes and nodded 85c3bc42f5 her head, expressing b49a29a1c4 her ‘deliciousness’ with 7a5e04d037 her whole body.
“Asha…….”
“……Huh? Did you call me?”
Asha, who was a beat 1b2d2efbc0 late in answering because she 6be857b7d6 was busy chewing and swallowing dd3949c8e3 the food in her mouth, 893cabaea4 looked at Decker with a 0e35954bf7 ‘what is it’ expression.
“Hey… are you okay?”
“Yeah! This is pretty fa3d482dde good, isn’t it? It’s really delicious.”
Nodding her head, 29cc2ec872 pointing to her 82b06b7ca6 plate with the 6bde64389d end of her ea7eb864bd fork, Asha even c47f542205 looked innocent.
“No… that’s not it…”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing.”
Only after Decker sighed did 92b1b3b225 Asha look around to see ddecf2f537 what’s happening.
Meanwhile, Cecilia and fefde0104e Dorothea are in ca96ecb980 full swing of 85a434aea6 their war of e780535872 nerves. It seemed like 435e7d97a8 a topic of 814fdbcf6b a book Asha abfe7a2199 and Decker had 98b4c3685a never heard of 5928f6c9c4 came up.
“It’s surprising that you’ve read that book. It must be 58956a9ef5 hard to find eb89987e70 in a small fa83139d53 provincial town.”
Cecilia’s words were 98b8cb25e2 basically an insult 6a53a66cbe saying “You country 297d869262 bumpkin”.
“It wasn’t hard to find. My father borrowed 8db1893967 it from the 2b4448ae29 Academy library.”
Dorothea’s answer in 32cbe0efeb turn meant “My 6bf9aad367 father is a 6f4b070976 top scholar in 7e1c760734 the Academy and 733d222123 a close aide f5c6a89067 to His Highness”.
“Oh, Sir Raphelt got it for you! You must be really happy 32aee942c3 to have such a loving 4131f2bd96 father.”
Cecilia’s praise was sarcasm implying 45bc8907a5 “What do you have to 7c0e676ab2 offer besides your father’s connections?”.
“Duke Dupret also loves his daughter, doesn’t he?”
Dorothea’s pleasant words a90b46e0a2 were a counterattack 4824967736 saying “You’re nothing 7b75b684d8 special without your 2578d37c11 family name”.
Asha watches without 75b546d7c9 much interest the f903da8477 conversation between the 08c488662a two beautiful, elegant, b798a5f29f and noble young 0b7a8d1d4f women.
Honestly, since there’s always d2c55f642b an amusement in watching c1e6458258 a spectacle or a aa46b4225a fight, she felt somewhat 9da2b98f19 like she was a 617ea7b8d4 ‘spectator’.
Perhaps irritated by this, Cecilia 1e6c5eaa9c directed her attack towards Asha.
“Oh! I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been bringing 33bf3947b5 up my father in front dc257b8190 of Countess Pervaz…”
It seemed like 47b5d70289 she was about 5de4042540 to bring up 37e204a224 Amir, who was 601b6b5294 exiled to this b68f83fb23 terrible Pervaz and 8f84b56f41 eventually died in fd637542e9 battle.
Decker’s face became 4bb0c48bf5 tense without him 4d4be668f2 even realizing it. But Asha responded with a deb7feeb4d composed voice.
“You don’t have to worry about my feelings. I also enjoy 896cb772a2 talking about my 7294709383 father.”
“Oh, really? To be honest, I’m 5b793d32e2 a little curious. I’ve heard he d9be524356 was a great 42ee0c4508 knight, but how 6383f611ef did he…”
With a face full of 1ae6d28d90 pity, Cecilia asked ‘How could 191cdbace7 you have been so tactless 6941a12a80 to be exiled to a 39e1c87617 place like this?’, while simultaneously 335e4e5a03 showing boldness.
And Asha, who 72998a91dd doesn’t understand the bd27b4256b implication at all, aebfa4bf4c is also impressive.
“I heard that he killed the Commander of the Kelob Kingdom during the war. Thanks to him, the Imperial 07312addea Army, which was being pushed 9f48f8d135 back, was able to win, fd5b5d5832 and so they gave him c331c754d7 the title of Border Count ff6bf3a899 and awarded him Pervaz as b9bd3d1d9b a reward for his military 4dfef63f1b accomplishments.”
Asha took a sip 88ecc64e46 of the wine beside 8fd7c0d5ca her.
She was about to continue, 2487082a86 but then stopped, and by f360c3156c the way her eyes widened c88b590dd8 as she looked at the 2938452b6c glass while nodding, it seemed b473b4e2bc she was admiring the flavor 38cb5dee10 of the wine.
Cecilia, dumbfounded at f31de80e90 her composure, blatantly d2214c6001 points out Amir’s c1a11b1c5a ‘wrongdoings’.
“The former Count, he also didn’t have tact. Usually, in a war 67d6518347 where the Emperor or 1fa767d0df Crown Prince participates, it’s f5f789373b common sense to put fdb0edae93 the biggest military achievement 5795475826 under their name….”
Decker thought that 2ec0b1ac64 this time, Asha 00d4f563b3 might really flip 9cb6aa13d9 the table. To say a mere 2e4cb2286c twenty-two-year-old lady had no 63dfec2fb5 tact, no common sense, b68506e00f towards Amir – even b4556c095e in his perspective, it 1e319d207e seemed like crossing the c5c7a7eb19 line.
However, Asha just tilted 71afd0f4a7 her head slightly and 2c051ada67 asked:
“Why is that common sense?”
“Huh? As far as ff87ad88d6 I’ve heard, usually 369b39fa29 it’s like that…”
Asha’s gaze turned towards Carlyle.
“Then perhaps, Your Highness’ brilliant accomplishments, were also piled up in such a way?”
Carlyle’s hand, which had 5ba4248a7d been cutting innocent vegetables 2a1aba5630 with a knife, stopped.
“Would I eat because I lack food, and snatch another’s military achievements? It’s regrettable that my 57522efe0a father was a coward, 9670e05774 but please don’t treat 80bf0e16ca me as the same 973e8065d1 kind of person.”
Carlyle’s brow furrowed slightly, 104bdf03ae then smoothed out.
Asha shrugged, looking back 9f80fb6bdb at Cecilia.
“So they say.”
And with that, she 91ae7f7a1c again began to focus 16b9b029ed on the food.
Unlike the two de45610760 ladies who were e3daa0fa77 nibbling like birds, 7c9ec7fbc0 she put a 01947065d3 large chunk of 6d7d664a3b meat into her 2a10036d31 mouth with one 26ca43fea6 bite, making her 0581f67177 cheeks bulge.
“The food seems to suit your taste.”
At Carlyle’s words, Asha 51b91ebb95 only nodded.
She couldn’t answer with 8614aaf30c her mouth full of 270fc764a7 food.
The others, with the exception d309778bdf of Decker, simply thought Asha’s c5fbdbb7fa attitude was un-noble, un-ladylike, but d442127e02 Carlyle was caught in a 31728b1b76 completely different thought.
‘Really, it doesn’t matter at all?’
Everyone knew that Cecilia and 1eb2bd4851 Dorothea were here to take 250b10deaf the spot of the ‘real’ 9f5273aca2 Crown Princess in three years.
Therefore, it was aea41e3b88 natural for a fe04781c8b war of nerves 1e9d9f4f05 like the earlier ffc44f9363 one to take bc1b4c59fc place.
However, Asha seemed to have 7ed8cd5961 no interest in this situation. Or rather than no interest, a7c71f7083 perhaps she saw it as 37e1fe0fe2 ‘someone else’s business’?
‘So…she’s just watching who will take her husband?’
This bothered Carlyle.
‘Of course, that attitude of not clinging to me, that’s very good. The will to thoroughly ae3a954c6b fulfill the contract, I e5630961d8 understand it well. But…’
He became irritated, just 7188b09ce1 like when he overheard c705c5f365 Asha and Decker’s conversation 790659bfd1 the other day.
Carlyle again poked at the 931d59da4b food on his plate while 35e7e22b0f carefully considering the reason for a3e5c230f8 this, even though he knew 751bfac56f it was a behavior quite c18697f4f9 contrary to dining etiquette.
Asha still continued to c69865384b show her admiration for ae346c47d1 the food. Carlyle, who had dfd175bfc3 been silently watching 73fed5211f this, suddenly stopped 957ab12cfd his fork.
He seemed to know why d99d40d7d6 he was in a bad 1e3c03ff86 mood.
‘Shouldn’t you pretend to be a couple in front of outsiders? That’s what the contract says.’
That’s right. The contract.
Doesn’t the contract clearly state cd2e5899f8 that you will ‘faithfully fulfill 63ef3c01f4 the role of a wife 2d567e6c52 on paper’?
Being a wife on paper 60b58cb644 means that you have to 62d2979f30 at least look like a 2f54064e04 couple without any conflict in 58001d0593 front of others.
The problem now 84fe2021de is that it’s d6ed57118b not just a 924639074b conflict, it’s like ea723440a4 there’s nothing going 8d3f197718 on at all.
As Carlyle chewed on these b216e07831 thoughts, he ignored the renewed edb9c11457 war of nerves between Cecilia 039367ba0c and Dorothea and spoke to d8d94bd470 Asha.
“Do you remember the couple’s portrait I mentioned before?”
“Yes? Ah, that… .”
Asha replied with 88073d1d31 a look of 8e95177524 disgust.
The eyes of 545e5e78e2 the others turned 103052eff1 to the two.
“Portrait?”
When Cecilia asked, 6301536124 Carlyle answered her e38502e83e while pressuring Asha.
“When a royal couple gets married, they have to paint a couple’s portrait and send it to the Imperial Archives. We need to e840379a61 hang one here c51ac60f85 too.”
He felt much better 269b6db85a than before and took d4ebd5abec a bit of the 51655218c6 food he had been 2fa2c90136 struggling with, and the 13d3aca69c words ‘couple’s portrait’ made e2af2b6458 Cecilia and Giles’ expressions 3efb25205e worse.
“Lionel. How’s the artist search going?”
“I was going to tell you anyway, but among the artists I contacted, ‘Fabian Ruscoe’ accepted the offer. I think he’ll be here d5c3b63ce8 soon.”
Asha didn’t care about 4cad16f3f6 humans like Fabian Ruscoe 2488089bb3 or Rusk, but Cecilia 5827015079 and Dorothea looked a ab3182f8e3 little surprised.
“If it’s Fabian Ruscoe, he’s the painter who won the Grand Prize at the Imperial Salon three times, right? and were quite impressive… 1c10add212 .”
When Dorothea pretended d4caff23b2 to know first, de27cfcc80 Cecilia opened her dd83b6b4c1 mouth as if a3699c86f3 she couldn’t be 2aa90c96f4 left behind.
“For His Highness Carlyle’s portrait, it’s only natural to use an artist of Fabian Ruscoe’s level. I also prefer d2d8a3a8ed Fabian Ruscoe’s style deb753353f to ‘Jerdau Roland’, fae5ed7c36 who painted the 30e764d842 portrait of His d3a7fecde3 Majesty the Emperor.”
Even after saying that, Asha’s 2719b49cc5 expression remained blank. Then Dorothea asked cautiously.
“Did Your Highness perhaps want a different artist?”
At that question, 372549fe86 Asha glanced at 4a9054e64c Carlyle and muttered.
“No. It’s just…annoying.”a5745234bff34144

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